"I've spent most of my entire life surfing, the rest I've wasted." Of all people, the ones that probably appreciate, admire and perhaps even understand the changing landscape of the ocean best are surfers.

March 2005: it’s official – vice pays. And it’s not even illegal. This month the Financial Times examined the spectacular growth of The Vice Fund, a Texas-based investment company which encourages its members to invest in the certainty of a vice-ridden future.

The other day I was watching a debate on TV on the subject “Should it be compulsory to learn English?” The speaker chosen to oppose the idea was Vladimir Zhirinovskiy - a politician who many people in Europe think is a dangerous extremist.